There are about 232 fabric options available for use on our screen system. That’s completely overwhelming for your customer. And, unless you enjoy a 5-hour sales call, you probably shouldn’t offer them all to every customer. So… why do we offer so many fabrics?
While there is plenty of discussion about “polyester versus fiberglass”, or the benefits of “precontraint“, or the incredible thinness of solution-dyed PET, the truth is that that each screen installation would benefit from the right fabric. If you want to keep things simple, we don’t believe there is a “wrong” fabric (as long as the homeowner is happy!), but you can set yourself apart in the market by knowing how to tailor your fabric offering for each specific application.
At a high level, we can group the available fabrics in three different ways: by openness, material or construction.
Openness
Perhaps most importantly for your screen application is the questions of “how much” screening do you really want. We classify fabric in terms of “openness percentage”. It’s a little backwards , since “95” actually means that it’s 5% open, but you’ll pick it up quickly. There are 3 main groupings:
- Bug Screen Fabrics. These start at 50% and go up to 70% and are primarily used for pest control, rather than sun control. These fabrics are only available in Black and White. The most popular fabric in this category is Nano 55 Black – it’s particularly great because the squares created by the weave are perfectly square openings. Click here for a link to the available Bug Screens.
- Standard Meshes. The largest category of them all belongs to our sun control mesh fabrics. You can still use these for pest control, but they are more densely woven and will effectively block heat and UV. These openness percentages run from 80% up to 99%, but the most common are the 95% fabrics, particularly Twitchell’s “Nano” line (see below about Matte finish). All of these fabrics are wonderful for their ability to stop heat, while preserving your view. Here are our standard meshes.
- “Block-Out” Fabrics. These fabrics go a bit beyond sun protection and into the solid fabric range. Often used in commercial applications, because of the more “vinyl” appearance. This category is dominate by Serge Ferrari’s catalog, but Twitchell has introduced a woven mesh called DimOut that acts as a nearly blockout fabric (99.99%). These blockout fabrics are great for keeping light out of bedroom windows or blocking off the view of an unruly neighbor!
Material Type
Once you’ve determined how effective you want the fabric to be, you can consider what the fabric is made of:
- Vinyl coated polyester. Most of our fabrics fall right in this category. Polyester yarn is spun and laminated in a variety of colors, than woven together in different patterns to form rolls of fabric 126″ wide and ~30 yards long. Twitchell’s fabrics and Serge Ferrari’s “VeoZip” all fall right in this category. Twitchell has a 15-year warranty, excellent performance and a strong price point. They represents about 90% of the fabrics we use in our screens.
- Vinyl coated fiberglass. If fabric engineering excites you, check out Mermet’s “Natte” and “Satine” fabrics with a fiberglass yarn core. They are available in fewer colors and openness factors than their polyester-cored equivalents, but have stronger material properties that make it a solid upgrade. Whether that upgrade is necessary or worth the added cost makes for a great debate!
- Solution-dyed PET. We’ve partnered with Tempotest to offer their “StarScreen” fabrics. Solution-dyed PET looks much different than a vinyl mesh and can provide a warmer or more natural look. Starscreen looks and feels more like a textiles fabric rather than a mesh. They can be a very natural product, with PVC-free and recyclable attributes.
- Post-Coated (“Precontraint“). These fabrics, exclusively from Serge Ferrari, are coated after being woven, so they become more dimensionally stable and gain a very distinct look. Might be overkill for an exterior screen, but can provide a more industrial look for commercial applications.
Construction
Beyond what the materials are constructed of, we can also consider how the materials are used together to create the fabric. Each method creates a different appearance:
- Basket vs Twill. Most exterior mesh fabrics are “basket weave”, meaning a two-by-two woven pattern that creates nice horizontal and vertical lines (check out the example image). For something more eye-catching you can use a “Twill” fabric, that displays a diagonal pattern due to it’s one-by-two weave. The only Twill fabric we offer is “Satine” by Mermet.
- Matte vs Gloss. Our “Nano” line of fabric is the only mesh available with a “matte” laminate, rather than a glossy laminate. This seems like a small deal, until you consider what causes glossy things to shine… the sun! With a matte surface finish, the Nano fabrics will ALWAYS have a better throughput visibility than an equivalent glossy fabric. If you’re used to SunTex or just Textilene, then the Nano fabrics will be a game-changer for you.
- Post-Laminated. Like we talked about in the materials section above, post-laminated fabrics have a distinct look. Rather and a mesh pattern, they have a solid appearance, with small random openings where the laminate didn’t bridge the weave gaps.
- Jacquard. These are woven on special looms that can create patterns in the weave! Definitely not your standard exterior fabric, but perfect for the architect or designer that wants more than a boring mesh!
Application Examples:
- Mosquitos invading the patio? Show your customer Nano 55 and Nano 70.
- Daylight keeping your infant up ’till sunset? Twitchell’s Dimout on the bedroom window. Or, Nano 99 if they still want some view out.
- Screen enclosures needed for your new pergola? Nano 95 or Nano 97 (with exact color matched powdercoat frame!)